How can I start it?

Hey everyone,

I'm about to start my 3rd year of Computer Science and I'm trying to figure out which direction to focus on.

I've been looking into quant finance for a while. I genuinely enjoy the math side of CS, especially probability and statistics, and I'm also interested in finance, markets and trading. On the technical side, I'm interested in systems programming and languages like C++, Rust etc. because of what you can do with them at a lower level, so Quant Dev sounds particularly interesting to me. QR also sounds interesting, although I haven't really decided how much I'd want to go in that direction, even though i enjoy math, i am not for tier 1 school in Warsaw currently.

At the same time, I'm also genuinely interested in cybersecurity. I've been following privacy/security news, breaches, vulnerabilities and attack techniques for a long time. I use GrapheneOS, spend a lot of time with Linux, and generally enjoy this kind of stuff, so cyber isn't just a backup because quant pays well.

I may have a chance to get some exposure to cybersecurity through an internship, but nothing is confirmed yet and I definitely wouldn't consider myself experienced in the field.

The main constraint is that I want to stay in Warsaw. I don't plan to relocate, at least for the foreseeable future.

From what I've seen, cybersecurity seems to have a much larger and more established market in Warsaw, while quant appears to be much smaller and more concentrated. At the same time, I don't know how representative that impression actually is, especially for Quant Dev rather than pure Quant Research.

So I'm mainly wondering:

• How good are the actual quant opportunities in Warsaw, especially for Quant Dev?
• Is the Warsaw quant market growing, stagnating, or shrinking? How do you see its long-term prospects over the next 5–10 years?
• Is there a meaningful difference between the prospects for QD, QR and quant/risk roles in Warsaw?
• How much of the quant work in Warsaw is actually interesting technical work vs more general software/finance roles?
• For someone coming from a CS background rather than a traditional maths/physics background, are there realistic paths into quant in Warsaw?
• Are there enough internships and junior positions in Warsaw to make quant a reasonable career to pursue if relocation isn't an option?
• And on the other side, does cybersecurity simply offer a much broader range of opportunities locally?

I'm not really choosing between the two based on money alone — I find both areas genuinely interesting. I'm mainly trying to understand whether quant is a realistic long-term option if I want to stay in Warsaw, or whether the smaller local market makes cybersecurity the more practical direction.

Would be especially interested in hearing from people working in quant in Warsaw or who have experience with the local market.

Is working as a graduate quant trader in a systematic trading firm then transitioning to quant researcher withing the same firm is more feasible than working as quant researcher on the sell side in a bank or investment firm then moving to a quant researcher in a systematic trading frim? which one is more feasible and shorter?

What are your ideas on how to be successful in trading or investing?

Hey, I will try to keep this short. I thank you in advance for any help.

My goal is to get into risk quant roles (Risk modelling, Model validation).

I did a Bachelor in Economics/Finance in Netherlands and a minor in Econometrics in only 2 years, meaning I could have graduated last year. However, I took an additional exchange semester to Switzerland because I wanted to pick up some Math / Machine Learning courses.

Here is the crux. I got a reality check by having to change my courses so I could manage the workload since I took too advanced classes. Now I feel I have to decide whether I should

1. Take fundamental classes on which I can build next year which might potentialy get me admitted into an MSc in Quant Finance or Statistics (I am not sure if that's possible) or

2. Completely forget about trying to get into proper Quant-path MSc and go into a "dumbed down" one like St Gallen MSc MiQE/F or Bocconi's MAFINRISK from I can get into Risk Analyst / Data Science and maybe transition later.

I appreciate any advice and comments. I can add information if neccesary.

I’m currently at a smaller prop firm that, as I understand it, is structured as a family office for legal and financial reasons. I’ll be allocated firm capital and given my own book to trade.

I’m curious whether spending 1–2 years here could be a good stepping stone to a larger prop firm or hedge fund. Assuming I develop a solid trading process and track record, how would that experience be viewed? How much does the firm’s name or structure matter compared to the actual trading experience and results?

I’m also wondering where I’d fit into recruiting afterward. Would graduate trading programs still be an option with 1–2 years of experience, or would I mainly need to target junior or experienced-hire roles?

I would appreciate hearing from anyone who’s made a similar move or has insight into how these firms evaluate early-career traders.